The Red River Rebellion was an uprising by the Métis people in modern Manitoba. The national government of Canada bought the area, then known as "Rupert's Land", from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869. The government then ordered surveys to be started of the new territory. The Metis were afraid that they would then lose their lands, since many did not have clear titles. They were also afraid that the Canadian government officials, many of which were Protestants, would not allow the Metis to continue being Catholics.

The Metis then orgainized their own provisional government, with Louis Riel as their leader, in the summer of 1869. They sent a list of demands to the Canadian government, including protection of the French language. After several months of negotiations, the Parliament of Canada passed the Manitoba Act of May 1870. The act admitted Manitoba into the Canadian Confederation and included many of the Metis' demands.